Hard flooring versus carpet.

I'm a carpet person because I find it cosier and more welcoming and quieter but it's a very personal choice and partly depends on the type of house you have - I think carpets suit mine better

Hi...I have laminate in one room, wood in another, tiles in another! We have moved away from carpet as it is cleaner and I didn't like the smell that carpets can harbour. We have always had dogs and therefore the floors are easier to clean. It really depends on your preference.
Yes they are easier to clean, but they are colder (unless you have underfloor heating). I love wood and the look and sound of it under foot, but the dogs claws pitter patter all the time and on our parque floor, their claws do scratch it. Wood floor and laminate have come a long way in recent years. Probably if I was doing it all again now I would have the plank laminate flooring. It totally looks wooden...have just put it in our utility, and it doesn't need the care wood does, such as oiling or polishing. Depending on the room it matters what wood flooring you have too. Kitchens need a manufactured layered type due to the extremes in heat. It really is personal preference. A great floor absolutely sets a house or room off....take your time and look at lots of suppliers and decide. You can often get samples. Beware soft wood will mark with high heels!! Good Luck

tiffaney I think I may have posted on the previous 2014 thread about how easy I found wood/laminate flooring,we have moved home since and have chosen wood again,it stays looking smarter I think than carpet and doesn't hold the dirt which carpet tends to do after a year or two also it makes the rooms look more spacious for some reason,our flooring is cushioned well with good underfloor insulation,you are not bothered with dust mites etc and the floors are easily cleaned with little effort,I would never swap back to carpets they need replacing too often the last wood flooring we had is still in our old place it has been down 12yrs now and looks as good as new,

We have laminate in our living room and wood in the hall. I love it. It doesn't wear or get mucky like carpets. We have a big rug in the living room to add warmth and cosiness. My DD, who is having a refurb in her house and has laminate, is going back to carpet. We were constantly replacing carpets and we have had this laminate/wood for so long I can't remember when it was put down.

We have tiles in our kitchen which I love.

Carpet in two bedrooms and stairs and landing.

Everywhere else is good quality laminate which has been down for about 16 years and is practically unmarked. Wouldn't hesitate to have it again.
One decent sized rug in the living room for cosiness.

It depends on how expensive the carpet is. We invested in a very expensive carpet and it looks fabulous and with its Dyson Vac is easily cleaned. Its quiet as well. DD s have wood and you can hear the echo when you ring them up.
I also have tiles and then wood in one room. DH wanted to have ago at laying it down but its only oiled not sealed but the room is the GCs room and not used much.
A hard decision!

I do find laminate cold underfoot. If you have an old Victorian house you are likely to find any wooden floors are not tongue and grooved and their is cold air coming up through them.
I prefer wood to laminate as it is not so cold but agree it is easy to maintain. For carpet we always had 80/20 wool which lasts for years but does tend to flatten then in the last house we decided to try some of the good quality man made fibres which are almost as expensive as woollen ones - they wore well and were easy to shampoo or clean. We have no pets as DH is allergic to fur and I vacuumed more or less everywhere on a daily basis.

We have parquet oak flooring covered in rugs in the centre so our feet are on carpet both in the sitting room and dining room - so we have the best of both worlds. The carpets weren't cheap but they sit without any movement.

Carpet in the living room and bedrooms. Laminate in the kitchen, hall and conservatory. Ceramic tiles in the bathroom. We're pleased with all of them, I would consider wood or laminate in the living room but not the bedrooms, would keep carpet there. Suspect we would all have our preferences, trust your own judgement tiffaney, you will know what meets your needs.

I have ceramic tiles in hall, downstairs loo and bathroom, cushion flooring in the kitchen and laminate everywhere else. I had a large rug in the lounge but could not keep it clean because Tara brought her presents there and also when sick, chose the rug.
I have a rug each side of my bed but again Tara is ruining them by scratching. Laminate is fine but not comfortable for her to lie on.

We have just has a hard floor versus carpets thread, why start a new one?

Those of you with laminate or wood floors and a dog, don't you find that they can slip more easily? When our spaniel was getting on she often slipped on the kitchen lino. Solved that by putting a large mat down.
Can't advise you on this Tiffany, surely it is a matter of choice. You must let us know who wins, you or your DH.

My little dog hates our laminate floor he slips on it ,he will not sit on it as it's cold on his "bits",he cannot run after thrown toys as he is like bambi on ice.
He will walk all the way through the lounge and the dining room to get to the kitchen to avoid the hard floor in the hallway....and then their is the constant tap tap tapping when his class are a little long ..so annoying

Thanks everyone. Yes l know this has been discussed before but it was in 2014. I read all the comments but thought there might be some updated opinions. I always thought wood flooring over laminate but it seems a good laminate is coming out on top. Still working on my other half.

Yes, there was an old thread on this topic, but it was revived, and the last post just a few weeks ago. But no matter, it often happens that the same topic comes up for discussion again.

Good quality laminate everywhere and a mid quality rug in every room for warmth. The cleanliness is wonderful.
The rugs can be replaced when needed and if you have pets or grandchildren then a rug may get a bit worse for wear over the years and not to much expense to replace it.
I never feel like I can breath with carpet, it always seems to me to be harbouring dust or dirt despite my high cleaning standards,
If you have floorboards then strip and stain and wax them.

While we're on the subject of carpet , rather than start another thread, can anyone tell me what colour carpet they found stays looking cleanest and or needs hoovering the least on the stairs.?

Over the years I've had lovely colours on the stairs from red patterned axminster to plain navy blue which all looked beautiful, but they needed constant hoovering. A few years ago to my horror my o/h decided we should have plain good quality beige.. I just thought , this is going to be dreadful, it'll show every little mark, and be filthy in no time, however that's not been the case at all, it's been the carpet that's proved to be the one that needs the least care of all the colours I've ever had.

It matches our bottom hall with beige tiles, but the thing is I hate the blandness of beige, so after 8 years I'm thinking of replacing the stair carpet even though it's in very good condition still, but I'm afraid I may end up choosing a carpet again that needs hoovering every day, which is impossible due to a bad back.. this one only needs it about twice a week.. anyone got any suggestions on carpet colours that don't show the dirt

Sorry OP for hi-jacking your thread, I'll be happy to start a new one about this if you prefer me to

I personally would only have carpets in the bedrooms, when you get out of bed it's nice on your feet wooden floors are cold. An alternative to this is hard floor with rugs at the side of the bed.
Tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms never carpet.
There are some hard flooring, engineered wood you could lay in the kitchen but you should be careful what you choose.
I prefer carpet in the lounge but having said that engineered flooring with a large rug could also work.
There are some vinyl type tiles which are very attraction which would work in the kitchen and bathrooms.
You are really spoilt for choice these days.

Another suggestion is cork. We had cork flooring throughout the downstairs rooms for 35 years. It is cheaper than, and has a much warmer feel than wood. It comes in tiles, so worn areas can be replaced, and has enough natural variation to be forgiving. It is slightly less 'slippy' than wood.

We have carpets in living room and bedrooms, tiles in bathrooms, kitchen and conservatory and laminate in dining rooms. Carpets in bedroom and living room are a must for me.
This combination suits us well.
My neighbour, whose house was all floored in laminate, has just re-carpeted her home.

So after much deliberating we finally decided on laminate in lounge, dining room and hall. My other half who was dead against it at first suddenly decided he was all for it.
It looks lovely and I'm pleased to say the fitter did a great job. Can you sense a BUT coming? We don't find it slippy to walk on albeit a bit noisy BUT how do you stop chairs and rugs sliding about? Do you have to get rubber backed rugs?, rubber feet for chairs? Kind of feeling a bit disappointed and feeling it will take a bit of getting used to! Meanwhile OH loves it.

We had our through lounge/diner which is extended sideways and backwards so pretty big done in laminate last year. Our furiture is heavy so I was worried about it marking and we've put felt pads under the sofas which has made it easier to move and have a very big rug under the dining table and in the front part - I've not really noticed anything sliding about though. You could try the material you can buy to stop rugs slipping and cut up some for under the chair legs.

I like hardwood flooring rather carpets.Hardwood flooring can last for decades.Carpet, on the other hand, usually needs to be replaced every few years.

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